Exodus 24:16

16 The Glory of God settled over Mount Sinai. The Cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called out of the Cloud to Moses.

Exodus 24:16 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 24:16

And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai
The divine Shechinah or Majesty, some visible token of it, an exceeding great brightness and splendour:

and the cloud covered it six days;
either the glory of the Lord, so that it could not be seen it had been; or the mount, as Jarchi; but that is observed before, unless repeated for the sake of the time it covered it, six days; or him, Moses, as some in Jarchi, who for six days together was covered with a thick cloud, so that he was not seen by any while on the mountain; and thus he remained, until he was admitted into the immediate presence of God, for which he was now preparing: what he did, or was made known to him during this time, is not said; it is probable his thoughts were employed about the glory and greatness of the divine Being; and as he was abstracted from earthly men and things, he was more at leisure to contemplate on divine and heavenly things, and so was more fitted for an intercourse with God, and had more courage and presence of mind to enter into it:

and on the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the
cloud;
in which the glory of God was, and which seems to favour the first sense of the preceding clause, that it was the glory of God the cloud covered.

Exodus 24:16 In-Context

14 He told the elders of Israel, "Wait for us here until we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you; if there are any problems, go to them."
15 Then Moses climbed the mountain. The Cloud covered the mountain.
16 The Glory of God settled over Mount Sinai. The Cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called out of the Cloud to Moses.
17 In the view of the Israelites below, the Glory of God looked like a raging fire at the top of the mountain.
18 Moses entered the middle of the Cloud and climbed the mountain. Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.